A Suitcase Story

Note from the Directors:

Coming out of 2017, I felt like I was moving into a new season of life personally. Which is also how I felt about Drive too. So, it only felt natural to finally put into production an idea that had been stewing on the back burner for a few years. We wanted to share someone's life through a different point of view, a narrative that would tell a life story through a suitcase. It took a lot of time and thought to get all the time periods locked down for our production designer to be able to put together the propping for each scene. Ultimately it took a lot of rigging, three rolls of sod, a lot of sand and even a live animal to make all the scenes come together. The post was as involved as the production, with all music and sfx designed specific for the production.

I've realized, we have to make a choice to live a life that is worth discovering and our legacy is something generations will be able to dig into and explore. Our hope is that we all can spend more time in 2018 focusing on the things that matter most. - Chris Powers

I still remember the tiny conference room beginnings of this video and the excitement we had in hopes of someday making it happen when it was born from brainstorming 2 years ago. Busy seasons and life in general got in the way of its immediate creation, but I’m so glad we ended up waiting until now to make it happen because the condition of everyone’s hearts and minds seemed ideal for pouring ourselves into this piece about something that really matters.

There was something different, something irreplicable, something craveable about being on the set of “A Suitcase Story”. Everyone on the team was bringing their best skills to the table in their purest form. Getting to see our friends and strangers work their magic made this the most inspiring set I’ve worked on. Micah Simms, the DP, was totally in his element getting to craft 20 lighting setups without moving the set once. Kim Martin, the Art Director, was completely at home in the thrift stores and antique malls she dug through for props, and then once she was on set with all of those items, she crafted each scene with ease and grace — also creating 20 rooms without moving the set once. Even our young talent loved interacting with so many unique items they’d never seen before. The entire team poured themselves out for this project, and it was so great as a director, seeing everything fall into place.

I think it was our desire for this piece that made it different. We wanted it. We wanted to feel the story, and we wanted to watch it move others. - Carley Weber